Tours & Tastings

Brewhouse

Fermentation Room

Packaging

Solar Array

Whole Cone Hops

Tasting Room

Take a peek inside our pioneering craft brewery.

There’s a lot going on at Sierra Nevada. If you want to see it all, we’ll pull back the curtains for you. We’ve designed several tours whose durations and content vary, so one of them is bound to fulfill your curiosity—or try them all! Common
among them
is a dose of history that underscores our role as a craft beer pioneer. Depending on the adventure, you’ll get your hands on our ingredients, peer into brewhouse vessels, stroll beneath fermenters, overlook our packaging facility and take in our
sea
of solar panels. If you’re over 21 years old, a guided beer tasting of new and limited-release beers, or sampling straight from the fermentation tanks just might be your next adventure. Choose your destiny. We can’t wait to show you around.

Standby lists are available for each Brewhouse Tour at the Tour Desk for in-person sign ups. In the event of a no-show or cancellation, tickets will be offered to the standby list in a first-come, first-served fashion.

Not seeing a tour that fits your needs? Wishing you could create your own experience? Contact our Tour Coordinator to set up your private tour today via email at chicotours@sierranevada.com!

Brewery Tour - Chico, CA

On this 45-minute tour of our production facility, we will navigate the entire beer-making process in our Westside production brewhouse.

You will rub our aromatic, whole-cone hops in your palms, gaze in the window of our whirling mash tun and stand under our 800 barrel fermentation tanks. We will
finish
with an educational tasting of a few Sierra Nevada beers.

Heritage Tour

In 1980, Ken Grossman founded Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in a 3,000 square foot, rented, metal warehouse. We started with a love for American hops and a simple goal: brew the beer
we wanted
to drink. Today, our breweries in Chico, California and Mills River, North Carolina carry on this ambition and we want to share this story and adventure with you.

On this 90-minute tour, you will sample our raw materials, sip some sugary wort before it moves in our fermentation tanks, and venture to our packaging facility. We will explore our pioneering production facilities and the journey that led us
from a small
homebrew shop in California to becoming one of America’s premier craft breweries.

Sustainability Tour

The weather’s too nice in the summer; we can’t stay inside! Our sustainability tour covers much of the sunny brewery grounds, showcasing our alternative energy efforts and many of the initiatives based on our “reduce, reuse, recycle, rot”
philosophy.
You’ll check out one of California’s largest privately owned solar installations (10,500+ panels!), our micro turbine technology and the remarkable HotRot composter, as well as the recycling and conservation program that helps us divert 99.8% of
our
solid waste away from landfills. You will walk through our lush two-acre garden and gaze at our beautiful eight-acre hop field while sipping a can of Pale Ale.

Backstage Pass Tour

This tour showcases the inner workings of Sierra Nevada not seen on any tour we’ve ever offered! We will explore the depths of our rarely seen West Brewhouse basement and check out the brewing process from underground, wander through our gigantic
beer warehouse, visit the unsung technological hero of the brewery known as the Glycol Chilling System, and take a trip around the brewery and out to the garden on our time Machine Beer Bike built by our friends at Red Hot Metal.

Hop Head Tour

Our founder, Ken Grossman, has always been fascinated with the aroma and flavor of hops. Since 1980, hops have been a focal point for our beers and we have been famous for our heavy-handed use of whole cone hops! Join us for a one-of-a-kind look
into
the hop-forward goodness of Sierra Nevada and learn how our pioneering use of hops helped kick off the IPA renaissance.

On the Hop Head Tour, we will dive into the evolution of Craft Beer’s most popular beer style – the India Pale Ale! We will explore the storied past of how the IPA took over the palates of beer drinkers everywhere. Your senses will be sent into
overdrive
as we explore the vast hop freezers, the copper-clad brewhouses and the seemingly never-end cellars where the magic of fermentation occurs! Along the way, we’ll wander the ins-and-outs of our varied, flavorful portfolio of IPAs, including beers
you’ll
find nowhere else. Ready your brain and your taste buds for a hop-forward immersive brewing adventure you won’t soon forget!

*Closed-toed shoes are required. A warm layer is recommended during the colder months.

Beer Geek Tour

Saddle up for an intimate, 3-hour tour into the depths of what makes Sierra Nevada tick. Really, this is “leave-a-trail-of-bread-crumbs” detailed, so we’re keeping groups small and the experience big. We’ll talk craft beer history before inviting
you
to gawk at the traditional German control board in our 100-barrel East Brewhouse, breathe in the glorious aromas next door in our open fermentation room, venture through our cellars where you’ll sample brews right from the tanks, and then
you’ll—what’s
that? You’re already convinced? Excellent. Prepare your palate, fill your fanny pack with snacks and we’ll see you soon.

Guided Educational Tasting

Don’t have 45 minutes to take a tour with us? Care more about how a beer tastes than about how it is made? Consider joining us for a 30 minute, guided, educational tasting! One of our knowledgeable guides will walk you through a sampling of eight
of our
beers. We will discuss beer styles and their history as well as what makes Sierra Nevada’s beer unique.

Self-guided Tour

Duration: At your leisure | All ages | Subject to close for Big Room events

For soloists and young families alike, head upstairs to the Mezzanine to check out some awesome antiques, an expansive bottle collection, and don’t forget the West Brewhouse Catwalk! Plaques along the route will tell the story of the shining
pipes and
tanks you’ll see along the way.

Feel free to call us at 530-899-4776 to make sure this option is available for your visit.

Bigfoot Vertical Tasting

This special tasting focuses on the history of the unique Barleywine beer style and includes a vertical tasting of our Bigfoot Barleywine Ale, celebrating it’s 36th year in production.

We have been aging this beast of a beer in our temperature-controlled cellar for up to eight years - letting the flavors grow, mature and get tangled. You’ll sample a Bigfoot flight that includes the soon to be released 2018 batch alongside a few
older
vintages. We’ll explore the ingredients that make Bigfoot a legend and finish off the tasting with a special barrel-aged version.

Come join us for this vertical taste adventure before it disappears! We will meet for check-in at the Tour Desk in the Gift Shop Lobby before the tasting. Cheers!